15 Decisions
I was sitting at my desk, going over a cold case, when my cell rang, the 'funeral march' ringtone telling me exactly who was calling without looking.
"Hi Maura" Maura's smile came easily down the line.
"Hello Jane, would you come down to my office when you are free please" I stood.
"I'm on my way" I ended the call and looked over to Frost. "Maura needs to see me, be back soon" He looked up and smiled.
"Okay, I'll call you if you're needed" I nodded and turned, seeing Tompkins looking my way and making a 'whip-cracking' gesture. I decided he wasn't worth a response; instead I just headed out, leaving him confused and probably a little disappointed I hadn't bitten.
Two minutes later I was walking into the morgue, nodding at Maura's minions and exchanging a quiet smile with Susie Chang, I knew Cooper had been down about an hour ago for something that probably had very little to do with work. I knocked at Maura's door to see her look up and smile happily at me, unconsciously drawing one from me, god I was so lucky…
"Hi Maur, you wanted to see me?" She nodded.
"Yes, thank you for coming down so quickly, please come in" As I did she motioned to the door, "Please shut the door" I turned and did so before she indicated one of the 'modernist' pieces of torture she called chairs in front of her desk. "Have a seat" I grinned.
"Do I have to?" I just got 'the look' as I wandered over and perched on the front of the seat. "What's up?"
"I received an email just before I called you…" I raised an eyebrow but said nothing, knowing I'd find out soon enough and Maura didn't disappoint. "I have been asked to travel to Los Angeles to appear before a selection panel for the position of Los Angeles County Medical Examiner"
I felt a wave of pride surge through me. Maura had submitted her application and less than two weeks later had been contacted by phone about her interest. A week later, she'd had a phone interview and breezed through that so this was the logical next step.
"Congratulations Maur, that's fantastic!" Ever the practical one she held up her hand.
"While it is gratifying to be selected to be interviewed, it is most definitely not a certainty Jane, as I have repeatedly reminded you"
"Yeah, but they'd be stupid to not pick you, you're fantastic, they'd be lucky to have you" I meant every word but I could see Maura blushing slightly at the compliment.
"We shall have to see, I am scheduled to travel out on Thursday afternoon and the interview is at 11AM Friday morning in the Parker Centre, the headquarters of the LAPD" I nodded.
"That's cool, who's asking the questions?" She turned and checked her computer.
"A Chief William Pope, the head of the LAPD, together with the head of HR, Mz Candace Morrell, and another senior officer, a Deputy Chief Kelso" I nodded.
"That is so good" I paused for a moment then pushed on. "It's moving faster than I expected to be honest" Maura nodded.
"Apparently the head of the Medical Examiner's office is taking extended leave, at this point for at least six months, and they wish to have an experienced replacement appointed before he goes"
"At least six months?" I raised an eyebrow at that. "So it could end up being longer?" Maura sat forward slightly, her hands clasped on her desk in front of her.
"That is not yet confirmed Jane" she mildly reproved me. "Let us deal with one thing at a time; I still have to convince the selection panel that I am the right person for the role" I shrugged.
"That's the easy part; the tough part will be getting Cavanagh to sign off on the time" I held up my hand to forestall her self-doubt. "Yes I know; I'm assuming that you will get it, but honestly…"
"I appreciate both your support and your confidence in my abilities Jane; let us hope that neither is misplaced when it comes to this opportunity"
"No chance of that" I stated with absolute conviction, I knew she was the best, she just didn't believe in herself the way I did in her. "If you do get it, how soon would they want you to start?" Maura smiled and nodded at the question.
"If I am successful then they will seek to ascertain the earliest commencement date, which I estimate would be a minimum of four weeks' notice here, perhaps closer to six in fact" I nodded agreeably.
"Yeah, the bureaucracy here will take some time to grind into gear" I smiled. "Lots of people in Boston won't be happy to see you go, especially as it's likely to be Pike replacing you" I shook my head. "The man's incompetent"
"Doctor Pike's skills and work ethic leave much to be desired, I will grant you, however the only other available replacement is Doctor Popov, who could be characterised as the poorer option" I pulled a face, that would be jumping from the frypan into the fire, Popov was a miracle worker in that he actually made Pike's incompetence look good. I looked across the table at Maura and asked the question.
"Is there no one else?" Surprisingly Maura nodded.
"I have heard very good things about a young Medical Examiner working in New Bedford, a Jordan Cavanagh" She saw my face and interpreted what I was thinking. "I do not believe she is related to Lieutenant Cavanagh in any way" I nodded once and asked the question.
"Why not get her in then?"
"Unfortunately she is considered too junior, not having been in her role long enough to allow me, in good conscience, to select her over Doctor's Pike and Popov" Maura pulled a face. "Regrettably"
"You're not wrong there" I sat back in the chair and instantly regretted it, it was damned uncomfortable. "What are you planning to wear to the interview?" I asked, changing the subject. I got a lovely smile from her at the question.
"I have a number of options under consideration" She tipped her head to regard me. "May I ask why? Do you have a suggestion?" I returned her smile.
"Yeah, that white dress you wore a couple of weeks back, you wore it with the blue pinstripe jacket and the blue heels" Maura's smile widened, probably remembering what I'd done that afternoon after work to show her just how much I liked it on her.
"A good choice Jane, I will wear that for the actual interview"
"Yeah, it's a lucky dress" At her slight look of bemusement I explained. "I sure got lucky that night" Her laugh was a joy to hear and I grinned at hearing it. Shaking her head Maura spoke.
"You are incorrigible Jane" I got a fond smile. "That said however, I will be happy to wear your choice into the interview" We happily sat there for a few moments before I changed the subject.
"Once they let you know you've got the job…" I held up my hand to forestall the inevitable objection. "Yes, I know…if you get it, but honestly…" She nodded and sat back as I continued. "I'm going to have to apply for time off for the duration of your secondment, getting that past Cavanagh is going to be a nightmare" I grimaced. "He has to sign off on it or I'm going nowhere"
"I appreciate the difficulties Jane, please let me look into what might be done to facilitate the process" I pulled a face.
"I don't want to give him another reason to hate me, besides, he might stuff me back in Vice like he keeps threatening" Maura sat back as she spoke.
"I would consider that unlikely Jane, he may dislike you, but your work, in conjunction with Sergeant Korsak and Detective's Frost and Cooper, is the reason why the team he leads is so successful, without you in the equation the case closure rate would be much diminished.
I nodded slowly then spoke.
"Maybe Maur, but he's been making life pretty damned difficult for a while now, and if anything it's getting worse, not better" She nodded.
"I understand, I will look into it, together with what options there may be for you in Los Angeles while I am visiting, in the case that my application is successful" She shrugged gently. "Much will depend on the outcome of this week's interview" I smiled happily, that was the simple part, Maura just didn't realise how good she was.
"That's the easy part Maura, just be yourself and they'll fall all over themselves to get you out there" She smiled a little shyly.
"If I do at all well in the interview process Jane, much of that will be to your help and assistance, I have found such interviews very stressful in the past, somewhat fearful of rejection, of not being considered good enough" I jumped on that immediately.
"Not a chance in hell Maura, I KNOW you're the best and they'll see that too, I mean they can't wait to have you out there for an interview so they can see the person's as good as the application say"
"As I said, that change is due to the support that you have given me, I am very, very lucky to have you" I smiled happily.
"I don't think, I know I'm lucky, in fact I think we're both pretty damned lucky"
"Indeed" Maura sat back. "Given your recommendation, I shall have to get that dress and jacket dry cleaned tomorrow so that I can pick it up on Wednesday before travelling out to Los Angeles" I frowned.
"I thought you'd have had it dry cleaned already, you get everything you've worn done the same week you wear it" She nodded agreeably.
"That is true, but I would wish to make certain that no dust or creases might have affected the clothes" I nodded then smiled slowly as I had a nasty thought.
"In that case, given it's going in for cleaning again, can you wear it when we get home?" She tipped her head to regard me, obviously puzzled.
"Tonight Jane, why pray tell?" I smiled happily as I replied.
"Because it's your lucky dress, and I want to get lucky too" The slow, wolfish smile that appeared was a joy to see.
"Why yes, I do believe that's an excellent idea" She looked to me. "If it is indeed a lucky dress as you suggest, perhaps adding a little more luck would not go astray" I nodded, she'd just made me one very happy girl, something I told her.
"Oh, I intend to make you feel very, very lucky"
Funny thing is, that night, we both got lucky.